A killer walks free in Louisa, Kentucky thanks to our broken system. Bill Richards is Lawrence County’s Animal Control Warden and he has been entrusted with protecting the animals in the community. Last week he proved he does nothing of the sort when he gunned down an innocent pit bull mother, shooting her between the eyes shortly after she delivered her babies.

The trigger happy Animal Control Warden “alleges” that the pit bull mama charged at him so he had to do it. Typically his story cannot be validated as the woman who initially helped the stray dog was not at home when the killing occurred. The woman who helped the stray pit bull mama said she was very sweet and loving often showering her with kisses.

After Bill Richards murdered the helpless dog this morally bankrupt “man” proceeded to take all eight puppies to Animal Control where they were promptly killed.

Why is this killer the Animal Control Warden when he clearly does not have the best interest of animals at heart?

What other animals have suffered as a result of his negligible actions?

DAYTON, TX (KTRK) — Residents in a Dayton neighborhood say they are still in shock after hearing that someone shot and killed a dog that was loved by nearly everyone.

The incident is a real blow to residents. Fred — a four-year-old black Labrador — had a family, but it seems everyone in this close-knit community loved him.

Hope Havard was Fred’s owner, but he wasn’t just her pet. Fred was known to roam the streets of the neighborhood, and Havard said her neighbors treated him like a member of their own families, too.

“He was a really good dog. He liked playing fetch a lot,” Havard said. “Everybody loved him and, like, everybody knew him and he knew that he was going to protect everybody.”

Last Thursday, the unthinkable happened.

Neighbor Virginia Lewis was inside her home when she heard what sounded like a shotgun blast.

She went outside to investigate and was horrified when she saw Fred lying in the street.

“I was just down here petting him and rubbing him, crying like a baby,” Lewis said.

Lewis would soon learn that Fred had been shot by a man whom her neighbors identified as an off-duty Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy who’d been riding his bicycle through the neighborhood.

According to Lewis, the off-duty law officer claimed he got scared because Fred started nipping at his heels while he was riding his bike.

“Fred would protect you, but he wouldn’t hurt you,” Lewis said.

Liberty County Sheriff’s Office investigators say the deputy told them the dog tried to attack him, so he shot it in self-defense. Lewis isn’t buying it.

“If he’s been in this neighborhood before, he should have known what kind of dog Fred was. He’s not going to hurt anybody — kids, neighbors ride their bikes all the time [and] four-wheelers. He doesn’t bother anybody,” Lewis said.

While the last few days haven’t been easy for grieving residents, they have been especially difficult for Havard — a 13-year old-girl who is now without her best friend.

“What are you going to miss most about him?” we asked.

“Him always being there when I’m alone and stuff,” she replied.

No charges have been filed and Liberty County Sheriff’s Office investigators said marks on the officer’s shoes seem to match up with his story.

An Alameda County medical marijuana patient is reeling after sheriffs raided his garden and threatened to kill his pet dog today.

Jason Rivera, a paraplegic who suffers severe chronic pain, was detained by sheriffs presenting a warrant at his recording studio. The warrant was based on the tip of an anonymous informant, said Rivera, recounting the statements of deputies on the scene.

As sheriffs executed the warrant at the studio, one asked Rivera about searching his home. Rivera says the deputy threatened to kill his dog if he didn’t cooperate. “We can do this the easy way and you can take us to your house to look around,” Rivera recounts the deputy saying, “or we can detain you for six hours while we get a warrant and go to your house and shoot your dog.”

The killing of family pets by SWAT officers during marijuana raids has generated numerous headlines recently, including chilling video of a raid in Columbia, Missouri, where a man’s dog was shot seven times while the man’s seven-year-old child slept in the next room. In these cases, police spokespersons defend the actions of the officers by explaining that in these no-knock raids, securing the premises and eliminating immediate threats to officer safety is standard operating procedure. Rarely are any officers punished for the wanton killing of these animals that are merely defending their homes from intruders.
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In Rivera’s case, however, we have officers who are obviously aware there is a dog at his home. They cannot justify using force against the animal when they have plenty of time to contact Animal Control and deal with the potential threat humanely. This threat is nothing more than emotional terrorism by our domestic police force to trample a disabled man’s Fourth Amendment rights in a crusade over a plant.

(Full disclosure: Rivera is also known as “RoLLaJaY” and one of the closest friends of the NORML SHOW LIVE podcast I produce. He donated to NORML thousands of dollars of used recording equipment that makes our show possible. He lives on a Social Security disability fixed income and requires a great amount of cannabis medicine just to live a pain-free life. He had very little usable medicine and about $80 cash when the raid occurred; coincidentally as he was listening to today’s NORML SHOW LIVE. Life in a prison cell without cannabis would be devastating for RoLLaJaY… far more so than the lesser time some lowlife coward snitch just traded for my friend’s health and freedom.)

6:01 p.m. EDT, July 18, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP)—
Police say two men suspected of robbing a convenience store at gunpoint were shot dead in an apparent murder-suicide that took place during a police chase Sunday afternoon in Winston-Salem.

Trayvon Donell McDaniel, 22, of 685 Motor Road, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting. Stephon Lavell Royster, 22, of the same address, died shortly after being taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Police were investigating an armed robbery that reportedly occurred at the EZ Pass convenience store at 559 Akron Drive shortly before 12:45 p.m.

Around 1:30 p.m., officers began following a black Ford Explorer with two passengers matching the robbers’ descriptions on Ohio Avenue, police said.

Before the officers stopped the SUV, the suspects pulled into a random driveway, abandoned the vehicle, and ran into the woods near Old Rural Hall Road, police said. The officers chased the suspects on foot.

During the foot chase, police said a “vicious dog charged one of the officers.” An officer shot the dog once and it died at the scene, police said.

Around 2:20 p.m., the two suspects were spotted in a wooded field in the 5100 block of Cox Boulevard near the intersection at Old Rural Hall Road, police said.

As the officers approached the suspects, they heard two gunshots and witnessed both men fall to the ground, police said. No gunfire was exchanged between the officers and the suspects, police said.

Both men were allegedly shot by the same small-caliber handgun that was found near their bodies.

Investigators believe one of the men shot the other before turning the gun on himself. It is unclear as to which man pulled the trigger, but police said both men were armed with handguns when they reportedly robbed the convenience store.

The victims’ families have been notified. Photographs of the men will not be released due to investigative purposes, police said.

Police said both men had several outstanding warrants for their arrest for robbery with a dangerous weapon in both Forsyth and Guilford counties.

The investigation is ongoing.

Police believe 23-year-old Antoine Wright, who was fatally shot in his apartment shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday, is somehow tied to the two victims. Wright owns the black SUV that was used during the robbery, police said.

Crystal Davis, who lives nearby, said she wants to move after her family witnessed the aftermath of the incident.

“When I went in my backyard I saw a bunch of police hovered over an object, which I soon found out was a dead body,” Davis said. “Children don’t need to be around that. It has a big impact on them to see something like that, so I’m ready to move now.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Winston-Salem Police at (336) 773-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 727-2800.